


Fright Night

by hobbit_hedgehog



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Halloween Gift Exchange, Haunted Houses, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 20:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12516356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: For the Fic Writer Halloween Exchange.  Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou meet at a haunted house.Happy Halloween!





	Fright Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HeithChief](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeithChief/gifts).



> Hey team! Long time no fanfic post. This fic is part of the Fic Writer Halloween Exchange! I wrote mine for [AsliverOfHope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsliverOfHope) who requested a BoKuroo fic. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> A huge thanks as always to [allihearisradiogaga](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allihearisradiogaga) for the beta. You rock my dude!
> 
> Happy Halloween folks! Enjoy!
> 
> Content Warning: There's a lot of fake blood in this.

Kuroo Tetsurou eyed the building in front of him.  It was one of the old libraries, the one that was mostly used for office space and events rather than media collection.  The library—with its darkened windows and somewhat decrepit observation towers—reminded Kuroo of all the places in horror films that housed humanity's worst nightmares.  It gave him the creeps.  Kuroo shook his head as he walked up the steps.  He tugged on the door handle, and the door swung open to reveal an empty hallway.  Kuroo stepped inside, closing the door behind him.  Standing in complete darkness, Kuroo pulled up the flashlight on his phone to use the weak light to search for a light switch.

"It's to your left," came a soft, apathetic-sounding voice from the darkness.

Kuroo would have been lying if he said he didn't jump about a foot in the air at the sudden comment.  Luckily, he had managed to hold in the scream that had bubbled up in his throat.  Kuroo took a moment in the dark to mourn the loss of his dignity, then reached to his left.  He blinked a few times to adjust to the light, then glared at the person standing before him.  In the center of the hallway was Kozume Kenma, Kuroo's roommate and current target of ire.

"You're late," Kenma said, turning away from Kuroo.

"I'm aware.  You could have told me when you were leaving," Kuroo pointed out.   "I would have come with you."

"I was meeting with Shouyou and Tora for dinner first, and you were sound asleep," Kenma said as he started walking.  "Come on, Yaku's waiting."

It was an event that the university did every year—a haunted house hosted by the theater department.  They would find a building on campus, set up shop for a couple of nights, and scare the students who ventured inside.  In past years, they had done "test of courage"—type events, where they would send two students into a darkened building together.  Members of the theater department would hide in various locations, making ominous sounds and waiting to scare whoever was walking by.  When Kuroo volunteered to participate last year with Kenma, the department decided to create a haunted house based on _Dracula_.  The result had been less than stellar.  Daishou had shown up, there had been teasing, then an argument, then a fight that almost destroyed several important props.  Kuroo had almost been banned from volunteering after that.

This year, the department was doing an Ax Murder haunted house.  Participants would be led through the haunted house by a tour guide.  The guide would explain that a series of ax murders had taken place in the building, at which point, a volunteer dressed as an ax murderer would attack the group.  The guide would lead the group away, running into more and more ax murderers until finally getting picked off at the end of the route.  Kuroo had hoped that he would get to participate as an ax murderer, but due to last year's incident, he was regulated to a less savory job.  Kuroo's job was to be a plant.  Kuroo would join each group as a lone student whose friends chickened out at the last moment.  He would make friends, blending in seamlessly with the people in the group until someone dragged him kicking and screaming down a hallway.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  For the next two days.  Kuroo wasn't sure if he was going to hate this or not.

Pushing open the door to a study room, Kenma and Kuroo joined the group gathered around the table.  Kuroo nodded at a couple of familiar faces before taking a seat.

"Ah, Kuroo, thanks for joining us," Yaku said from his spot near the chalkboard.  Judging by the tone of his voice, he was not happy.

Yaku Morisuke was a third year in the theater department.  He had taken over the haunted house project the year previous, and—after Kuroo's little showdown with Daishou—was by no means Kuroo's biggest fan.

Kuroo flashed Yaku a grin.  "I took a nap and overslept, you know how it goes."

"Sure," Yaku muttered.  He took a deep breath, "Alright, since we're all here, let's go over tonight's plan real quick.  We're gonna have three tour guides tonight.  Kai, Inuoka, Lev, you three remember the route?"

"Yup!  We got it!" Inuoka said as Lev nodded enthusiastically.

"Glad to hear it," Yaku replied.  "Make sure you stick to script."

Yaku had leveled a stare at Lev as he said this, but the first year chose that moment to stare at an interesting coffee stain on the table.  Sighing, Yaku continued, "As for murderers, we have Yamamoto, Fukunaga, Tanaka, and Azumane.  Tanaka, you're the first murderer.  Azumane, you're the second.  Then Yamamoto.  Yamamoto, you kill off your victim, then grab whoever the plant of the group is.  Hopefully, they'll be standing close enough to your hiding spot that you can just grab and drag.  Fukunaga, you're the last one.  You kill off the tour guide at the end, then chase the group outside."

The four nodded, Tanaka and Yamamoto sharing a quick fist bump before Yaku continued.

"For victims, we have Sawamura, Ennoshita, Sugawara, and Noya.  Your parts are pretty easy, just scream and die, essentially.  Make it as convincing as you can.  As for plants, we have Shibayama, Kenma, and Kuroo.  All you guys have to do is pretend to be there by yourself, and make sure you're in the right spot to be grabbed.  The only thing I ask is that you pretend to be scared when appropriate, and don't all hang out in the same spot.  We want people to think you're by yourselves.  I'll be assigning groups to tour guides as they go. 

"Don't touch the guests, like, at all, and watch for flying fists and elbows.  We want this to be scary, fun, and safe.  Everyone should grab a walkie before they go.  That way we can keep in touch in case anything goes wrong.  Keep chatter to a minimum so we don't break the illusion.  That's all I got.  Does anyone have any questions?"

There was a resounding chorus of , "No, Yaku-san" from around the table. 

Satisfied, Yaku clapped his hands together.  "Great, I love it when a plan comes together.  Let's get everyone into costumes and makeup.  Try not to drip the fake blood onto the carpet too much. 

"Oh, and Kuroo?" Yaku added, turning to stare down the taller man.

"Yes, dear?" Kuroo asked, batting his eyelashes.

Yaku's eyebrow gave the slightest twitch.  "We're keeping it professional this year," Yaku warned.

Before Kuroo could respond, Yaku left the room.  As everyone got up to follow, Kuroo turned to Kenma.  "He's aware that what happened last year wasn't my fault, right?  I wasn't planning on fighting anyone, but Daishou made fun of my acting.  And my cape, I might add."

"And your fangs, and your hair.  We've been over this Kuroo," Kenma said.  "Yaku doesn't want a repeat of last year, that's why he's singling you out.  Besides, your acting sucked.  You're a chemistry major, not theater major."

"Excuse you, my acting is fantastic," Kuroo grumbled.

Kenma stood up, giving Kuroo a dismissive wave.  "Come on, let's get this over with.  It's gonna be a long night."

***

Of all the places Bokuto Koutarou wanted to be on a Friday night, a haunted house was definitely not on the list.  In fact, Bokuto had suggested that he and his friends go to the Halloween themed comedy show downtown, but no.  They all wanted to go to the haunted house.  Because it was free, or whatever.  So here he was, walking behind his friends as they climbed the stairs towards what was certainly going to be Bokuto's doom.  And they were _laughing_.

"Akaaaaaaaaashiiiiii," Bokuto whined as he tugged at his friend's sleeve, "why are we going to a haunted house again?"

He knew he was grating on Akaashi's nerves, given the way his shoulders tensed at Bokuto's whining, but Bokuto couldn't help it.  He really, _really_ didn't want to be doing this.

"Because we took a vote, and the majority of us wanted to go to the haunted house, Bokuto-san," Akaashi explained for the umpteenth time that night.

"How come Washio got to skip out?" Bokuto pressed.

"Because he has a test coming up."

"What if I have a test I need to study for?  You still dragged me out here."

Akaashi shot Bokuto a look over his shoulder.  "That's a hypothetical situation if I ever heard one."

"Akaashi-" Bokuto groused.

"Come on, Bo, it's not going to be that bad," Komi insisted, dropping back to clap Bokuto on the shoulder. 

Bokuto dropped Akaashi's sleeve, and the other visibly relaxed.

"It's a student-run haunted house, it's not going to be that scary," Yukie said, smiling at Bokuto's pout.

"If it bothers you that much, you can keep your eyes closed the whole time, and you can hold Sarukui's hand," Konoha teased as he held the door open for the group.  "Right, Sarukui?"

"Of course he can," Sarukui agreed.  "As long as he knows that I will give him shit for it for at least a month."

"You're all objectively the worst," Bokuto grumbled as Komi and Yukie pushed him through the door.  He shot a glare at Konoha, who held up his hands in a heart shape in return.

Bokuto had never really been inside the old library, but he didn’t need to have been to know that the entire space had been transformed.  Doors marked off with police tape, outlines of bodies on the floor, rugs with what Bokuto suspected were bloodstains, bookshelves blocked off to form hallways, and what appeared to be an ax buried in a wall.  Bokuto had to admit that he was impressed; the theater department really knew how to build a convincing set.

The group made their way to a marked room at the end of the hall.  Another group was leaving as they entered.  Bokuto recognized two first years from one of his lectures—Tsukishima and Hinata, he remembered—but he didn't recognize the rest.  Hinata was talking loudly to someone with blond hair and an oversized hoodie, while a taller boy with brown hair and freckles was comforting a much smaller, terrified blond girl.  Bokuto sympathized with her, she must have been dragged to there too.  Tsukishima and the other first year, some kid with black hair, were standing slightly apart from the others.  Bokuto caught Tsukishima's eye and gave him a wave.  He got a curt nod in return before the group vanished through the door, a tall boy with silver hair in the lead.  They were left alone with two people, Yaku (who Bokuto remembered from a class), and a man with a shaved head.

"Hey, welcome!" Yaku said.  "We're gonna give the other group a few minutes before we send you through.  This is Kai, and he'll be your tour guide tonight."

Kai nodded at the group and smiled, "Welcome guys!"

The sound of footsteps outside attracted Bokuto's attention.  He turned in time to watch someone walk through the doorway.  The new arrival was tall, and had the unruliest bed head Bokuto had ever seen.  He looked around, his eyes stopping momentarily on Bokuto.  Bokuto felt his face flush and his heart rate quicken; this guy was hot.

"Hey, am I too late to go through?" the newcomer asked, walking over to Yaku.

"If that was your friend group that just went through, then yeah," Yaku replied.

Hot Guy sighed, "Damn, guess I'll head home then."

Bokuto found himself speaking before he even thought about it, "It's okay, he can come with us."

Bokuto's friends, Yaku, and Hot Guy turned to look at Bokuto.  Bokuto thought he heard Konoha mutter something along the lines of, "I know what’s going on here".  Ignoring Konoha, he flashed a wide smile at the pair, and congratulated himself when Hot Guy's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink.

"You sure, Bokuto?" Yaku asked.

Bokuto nodded.  "Yeah!  The more the merrier!  He turned to stare at his friends.  "Right team?"

There was a murmur of agreement from his friends.  Bokuto turned back to Yaku and made a "told you so" gesture.  With a shrug, Hot Guy crossed the room to their group.  Bokuto tried not to stare too much.

"Thanks for letting me come with your group," Hot Guy said, standing next to Bokuto.

"Not at all," Bokuto replied, hoping that his voice didn't crack as he spoke.  "My name's Bokuto Koutarou.  What's your name?"

"Kuroo Tetsurou.  Nice to meet you."

The rest of the group introduced themselves to Kuroo, making small talk until Yaku checked his watch and clapped.  "I think that's enough time for the other group.  I'm gonna pass you guys off to Kai, and I hope you all have fun!  Kai?"

"Alrighty, before we go through, just a few rules," Kai said, stepping forward.  "First, please keep your reflexes in check.  Second, if at any point you need out, please let me know.  There is no shame in needing to be led to a safe place.  Third, please watch your step as we go through, and don't run. It's gonna be dark in there, and we don't want anyone to trip.  Fourth, have fun!  Now, if you'll follow me."

Kai turned and walked through the door.  Bokuto and Kuroo let the others go first before bringing up the rear.

"If you get scared, you're more than welcome to hold my hand," Bokuto whispered to Kuroo.

Kuroo snorted, "Are all of your lines that smooth?"

Bokuto grinned.  "Hey, it was worth a shot," he said.

Kuroo shook his head in amusement.  He held the door open with one hand, bowed, and gestured Bokuto forward with a sweep of his arm.  Bokuto curtsied at Kuroo, grabbing his outstretched hand as he walked by and pulling Kuroo forward.  Plunged into darkness, Bokuto had to admit to himself, this night had gotten a whole lot better.

***

Kuroo had no idea how this Bokuto guy and his friends had managed it, but for the first time that night, Kuroo was having fun.  The first few groups he had gone with had been—putting it as nicely as possible—boring.  They all had begrudgingly allowed Kuroo to come along, and none of them had really talked to him along the way.  Adding insult to injury, none of them had really been that surprised when he had been dragged off.  Well, that could have been due to his bad acting skills, but still.  The _least_ that they could have done was freak out a little. 

 Bokuto and his group were different.  They made an effort to include Kuroo.  They listened to Kai as he detailed the made up history of the "Ax Murder Mansion"—Kuroo had made a mental note to give Yaku shit about that one later—and they cracked jokes without malice.  Within minutes, there had been at least three variations of the phrase "ax a question."  They weren't taking things too seriously, but they were having fun and being respectful. 

Kuroo especially liked that Bokuto was sticking close to him.  Their hands had bumped once or twice as they walked, and each time they did, Bokuto would smile that toothy grin at Kuroo.  It was nice to get a little attention.

"Alright folks, we're coming up on the first murder room," Kai announced, doing his best impression of a campus tour guide as they paused outside a study room.  "A few decades ago, a student was found murdered in this very room.  There was no sign of the killer, other than an abandoned, bloodstained ax."

"I feel that I must 'ax' a question, but I'll save it for later," Bokuto muttered to Kuroo.

Kuroo snorted.  Really, he shouldn't have.  That brought the tally up to four, but he didn't care.  Bokuto was trying to be funny, and Kuroo thought it was cute.

As Kai reached for the door handle, something heavy crashed into the other side.  At least one person in the group—Kuroo wasn't sure who—yelped as the door rattled on its hinges.  Through the darkened window, they could make out the outline of a man with short hair.  Blood was running from a cut on his forehead, his eyes were wide with panic.  They could make out barely coherent cries for help as the man pounded on the door.

Kai grabbed the door handle and twisted, but nothing happened.  "It's locked!" Kai shouted.

At that moment, a shadow loomed over the trapped man.  He turned around as the shadow took a swing at him.  A splatter of blood hit the window, the man dropped.  No one moved as the door unlocked and swung forward.  There was a body lying on the floor, and towering above him was a man with a bloodied ax and a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Ah.  Right," Akaashi muttered.

"Nope.  Nope.  Time to go," Bokuto said, his voice strangely level.

"I'm with you on that one," Kai agreed.  "Follow me, let's go!"

The group ran down the hallway as the ax murderer took a step out of the room.  Well, they weren't running so much as power walking, but getting away from the murderer was more important than the speed at which they did it.  Yukie seemed to be the least scared in the group.  She kept nudging Bokuto with her elbow as they moved, joking about leaving him behind if he didn't go faster.

Despite being in on the jump scares, Kuroo had in fact been scared with the rest of the group; he hadn't expected Sawamura to slam into the door that hard.  He had to hand it to Sawamura and Tanaka, they didn't half-ass anything, and that would set the tone for the rest of the tour.  Next up was Sugawara, and lord only knew what he would do.

As they rounded another corner, they ran smack into Sugawara.  Like Sawamura, Sugawara had blood running down his face, but from his mouth instead of his temple.  He was also had a blood stain on his abdomen, and was clutching his arm.  Blood seeping from between his fingers.  Kuroo was impressed, Sugawara looked like he had been through hell.

"You…. You have to help me!" Sugawara panted.  "I lost him for… for now, but he can't be that far behind.  He's trying to kill me!  He's trying to-"

Sugawara was cut off as Azumane burst from a nearby room.  Before Sugawara could run, Azumane lunged, wrapping an arm around his throat, and dragging him back towards the classroom.  Sugawara clawed at Azumane's arm, screaming for help as his heels dug into the carpet.  Azumane tossed Sugawara into the classroom before turning back to the group.  He raised his own axe and growled in the most menacing voice Kuroo had ever heard him use, "You're next."

The door slammed shut.  There was an ear-piercing scream, and then silence.  Kuroo jumped as a vice-like grip curled around his arm.  He whipped around to find Bokuto staring at him.  His wide-eyed stare vaguely reminded Kuroo of an owl.

"Kuroo, c'mon!  We gotta go!  The group took off already, but you were just standing there.  C'mon!"

Kuroo nodded and let Bokuto lead him down the hallway by the hand.  In any other instance, Kuroo would have appreciated holding hands with a hunk like Bokuto, but he couldn't without feeling bad.  Bokuto seemed to be pretty affected by what was going on.  Kuroo wasn't sure if it was because Bokuto was scared of blood, or what, but the man was not having a good time.  It wasn't going to help that Kuroo was about to make it worse.

They caught up with the rest of the group soon after.  Konoha, Sarukui, and Komi were breathing heavily.  Akaashi looked frazzled.  Even Kai looked a little spooked.  Yukie, on the other hand, looked positively delighted.  Well, Kuroo was glad that someone was having a blast.

Kai let out a sigh of relief at the sight of them.  "I'm glad you guys are okay.  We gotta find a way out of here."

"Do we have to?" Yukie whined under her breath.  "I wanna see more murders."

"I think I know a safe way out of here," Kai said.  "Stay close, we're gonna be moving fast."

Kai led them past a series of offices, then made a left turn.  Kuroo knew that Yamamoto and Nishinoya would be coming up at one of the next intersection of aisles.  He needed to prepare himself for what was coming next, but Bokuto still hadn't let go of him.  After a moment's hesitation, Kuroo slipped his hand from Bokuto's.  Bokuto turned back to look at him, one eyebrow quirked.

"Sorry, my hands were getting clammy," he muttered as he wiped his hand on his pant leg.

"Do you guys hear that?" Komi asked.

There was a pounding of footsteps, then someone skid into view.  The group came to a halt just in front of the newcomer.  Kuroo took a few steps forward to get into place, and to gave Nishinoya's makeup a onceover.  Much like the other two victims, Nishinoya was wide-eyed, frantic, and covered in blood.  Unlike the others, he never got the chance to plead for help.  Yamamoto sprung from the shadows and slammed his fake ax into Nishinoya's back.  A spray of blood left Nishinoya's mouth, hitting Kai and Kuroo in the face as Noya staggered forward, backwards, then collapsed.  That time, Kuroo knew Bokuto was the one who screamed.  Kuroo couldn't blame him; what Noya just did was disgusting, and totally unplanned.  Some of it had gotten into his mouth.

"Not enough," Yamamoto growled from behind his mask.  "Need another…"  Yamamoto surveyed the group, his gaze landing on Kuroo.  "You!"

Kuroo tensed.  He took a step back as Yamamoto lurched forward.  This was it.  What Kuroo hadn't been expecting was the wild card known as Bokuto Koutarou.  Just as Yamamoto reached for Kuroo, a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist.  Kuroo let out the most undignified screech of his life as Bokuto lifted him up and backwards.  The rest of the group looked on with a mixture of alarm and bemusement as Bokuto readjusted his grip on Kuroo and slung him over his shoulder.

Bokuto took off down the hallway, screaming, "Not today, Ax Man!"

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi called.

As they rounded the corner, Kuroo could hear Yamamoto shout, "What the hell?  Get back here, man!"

"Bokuto, what the fuck!?" Kuroo hissed, squirming in the other man's grip.  "Not cool, dude!  Put me down!"

"Hey, I saved your life!" Bokuto retorted.  "That ax murderer guy was about to get you!"

 _'Is this guy for real?'_ Kuroo thought.  _'Everything about this is fake!'_

"Listen, Prince Charming," Kuroo snapped, "not that I don't appreciate your very heroic rescue attempt, but this is a school sponsored event.  There's no way in hell I was gonna die."

Bokuto slowed to a walk, then to a stop.  "…Right."

"Now that we have that figured out, put me down, please.  I feel a little nauseous."

Bokuto set Kuroo down gently.  Kuroo did his best to ignore the fact that Bokuto kept his hands on Kuroo's shoulders, and the feeling of butterflies in his stomach that accompanied that knowledge.  Instead, he focused on how they had gone the completely wrong way.  They were way off route now.  Well, at least they weren't going to run into Fukunaga.

"Okay, question," Bokuto said.  "Why'd the ax guy grab at you?  There were other people in the group."

Kuroo sighed, "Dude, I'm a volunteer for this thing."

Realization and embarrassment dawned on Bokuto's face.  He covered his beet-red face with his hands and groaned, "You're staged.  It's your job to get dragged off by the ax guy."

"Yeah, it is," Kuroo confirmed, scratching the back of his neck absently.

Bokuto deflated even more.  "I'm so sorry," came the muffled reply.  "I don't do well with horror stuff to begin with, and I got a little overwhelmed.  For a second there, I really thought that you were gonna die.  Oh God, they probably had to stop all the other groups from coming through.  And they're gonna have to send someone to find us."  He shook his head, "I feel dumb now."

After a moment, Kuroo spoke, "You're not dumb.  Jumpy as hell, yes.  But not dumb.  If it makes you feel better, you did pretty well up until that point.  You managed to not scream until Yamamoto jumped out and attacked Nishinoya."

"No, I screamed when the first guy got axed too," Bokuto confessed.  With a sigh, he lowered his hands.  "Look, I really am sorry, I wanted to make sure you were safe.  You're too cute to die."

Kuroo smiled.  "You think I'm—"

"Kuroo, where are you guys?" came Yaku's voice from over the walkie.  "Are you okay?"

"Ah fuck," Kuroo grumbled.  He reached for the walkie and held down the talk button.  "Hey Yaku.  Did Yamamoto fill you in on what happened?"

"Yeah, he did.  He said that you got dragged off by the wrong person."

"I did.  Bokuto got a little jumpy after Noya sprayed Kai and I with fake blood," Kuroo gave the increasingly dejected-looking Bokuto a sympathetic grin.  "From his mouth, I might add."

"Gross."

"That's what I thought too.  Anyway, we're off route, but I think I know where we are.  Has Bokuto's group left already?"

"Yamamoto, Kai and Noya led them to the exit.  I think they're waiting for you guys."

"Alright, we'll be there soon."

Kuroo clipped the walkie back to his belt, covering it with his shirt.  Kuroo motioned for Bokuto to follow him.  They walked to the exit in silence.  Bokuto was obviously embarrassed, and Kuroo didn't want to make it worse by following up on the "too cute to die" comment.  However, it made the walk uncomfortable, and that, in Kuroo's opinion, sucked.  Before long, they reached the back door.  Kuroo pushed it open, revealing Bokuto's friends.

"There you two are!" Konoha called.  "Bokuto, what the fuck was that?"

"I told you guys that I don't do well in haunted houses!" Bokuto snapped back.  "You knew I was going to freak out!"

Akaashi rested his hand on Konoha's shoulder before addressing Bokuto.  "It's fine, Bokuto-san.  You told us that you didn't want to do this.  You're right, we should have known something was going to happen."

"Thank you, Akaashi," Bokuto sniffed.  "I'm glad that at least _someone_ understands why I freaked out."

"We're sorry, Bo," Komi chimed in.  "We didn't think you were going to freak out that bad."

"We talked to Yaku-san," Yukie said.  "He's not mad either.  He does want Kuroo to go get washed up , though."

"I'll get right on that," Kuroo said.  "But first, can you guys give us a minute?"

The group nodded.  Kuroo led Bokuto a short distance away.  He gave Bokuto a quick hug, careful not to smear any fake blood on Bokuto.

"Seriously, don't beat yourself up over this," Kuroo said.  "It's happens sometimes.  I'm not mad, and neither is anyone else."

"I'll try not to," Bokuto replied.  "It was kind of funny wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," Kuroo agreed.  He held out his hand, "Here, give me your phone real quick.  I wanna give you my number."

Bokuto all but threw his phone at Kuroo.  Kuroo laughed at his enthusiasm.  He programmed his number into Bokuto's phone, then sent a text to himself.

"There we go, now we can keep in touch," Kuroo said.

"You want to keep in touch?" Bokuto asked.

"Of course I do.  It's not every day I get swept off my feet like that."

If he hadn't had fake blood on his face, Kuroo would have kissed the blush off of Bokuto's cheeks.  Unfortunately, fate was cruel, and Kuroo was not into the idea of bloodstained kisses in the slightest.  With a promise to text Bokuto, he wandered back into the haunted house, leaving Bokuto with his friends.

"Hey Bokuto!  Let's go, it's cold out here," Sarukui called.

Bokuto nodded, his gaze lingering on the haunted house before he turned to regroup with his friends.  As they walked, Bokuto's phone let out a small chime.  He read the message preview, and stopped in his tracks.

"Bokuto?" Yukie asked, turning back to him.

Bokuto held up a finger so his friends would wait; his eyes were glued to his screen.

**_From: [Kuroo Tetsurou]:_ ** _Thanks again for saving me from the murderer. Can I repay you with lunch tomorrow?_

Bokuto let out a loud, triumphant screech, startling Akaashi and the others.  Ignoring his friends' glares, he fired back a quick reply, and all but skipped ahead of the group.  They shouted for him to stop, then raced after him.

"What's got you so smiley?" Konoha asked when he caught up to Bokuto.

"I've got a date tomorrow," Bokuto announced.

Konoha stared at Bokuto with disbelief, shaking his head.  "Seriously?  You have a date with Kuroo already? You have the strangest luck, I swear."

"You're just jealous because I've got a date."

They teased each other all the way back to Bokuto's apartment.  And when he went to bed that night, Bokuto couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, haunted houses weren't so bad after all.

***

_The Following Year_

As he raised his cup of coffee to his lips, Kuroo's phone chimed once—an incoming text message.  He set his cup back down on the table and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"What's up?" Bokuto asked from across the table.

"Message from Yaku about tonight," Kuroo said.  "I'm pretty sure he sent one to you too."

Bokuto flashed Kuroo a smile, "It was nice of him to let me participate this year.  I'll have a lot more fun scaring people than actually going through it."

Kuroo hummed in acknowledgement as he read the text.  "I think they let you because you can actually lift me.  Yamamoto can't."

Bokuto flexed, one eyebrow raised with a shit-eating grin plastered to his face.  "What can I say?  These muscles are built for lifting Tetsus."

"This is a very specific callout," Kuroo said, obviously ignoring his boyfriend's cheesy line.

"What's it say?"

"It says, 'Please note that I will be checking zombie makeup periodically over the course of the night.  If I see ANY vaguely lip-shaped smudges, there will be hell to pay.'"

"I mean, to be fair, there is an increase in couples who volunteered this year," Bokuto pointed out.

"True, but you know he means us," Kuroo replied as he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Well then, we'll just have to be careful not to smudge my makeup.  Won't we?"

Bokuto wiggled his eyebrows at Kuroo before making kissy noises at him.  Laughing, Kuroo reached across the table and took Bokuto's hand in his own.  They laced their fingers together, and Kuroo let out a contented sigh.

"I like the way you think."


End file.
